Learning to live together: 5 tips to start off on the right foot. There are those who do it before the wedding and those who wait to take off their wedding dresses: whatever your choices, the moment you start cohabitation will not be long in coming and you will have to be ready … or at least try. Such as? Take a proactive attitude and arm yourself with a good deal of patience, especially at the beginning. To give you a hand in addressing this important beginning, we have written for you 5 crucial points to consider in order not to let you ever miss the love phrases even after many years of living together.
1. Fairness in expenses
One of the hottest issues concerning cohabitation is as uncomfortable as it is fundamental: yes, it is precisely about money. Some couples decide to pool all their belongings, especially once they are married, while others prefer to keep their separate income, out of prudence towards future events. How would you do? Our advice is to opt for a middle ground, or for equity. Each could contribute to the costs of a couple with a share that takes into account the income received individually: it is a method that respects both the autonomy of both and the mutual commitment to the new family that was (or is to be) established.
2. Domestic collaboration
Another important topic to discuss before starting cohabitation concerns the management of the house. Each story is unique and, depending on the commitments of both, it could happen that one of you has more free time than the other. So would this person have to take care of the house? We think not. Once again, we believe it is important to break down the tasks in a precise way and, if you are struggling to find a natural b.alance, it would be good to compile an organizational table divided by turns. It is one of the best tips for learning to live together.
Do you work all day and you do not have any time? No problem: delegate the work to a trusted person, who – naturally underpayment – takes care of cleaning the house for you. In the evening, after a tiring day at the office, you can finally exchange romantic phrases in your shining and fragrant love nest.
3. Management … familiar
Yes, we Italians sometimes are just “mammoni” and the family continues to influence us even if we lead an independent life with our own half. When you are two, then you happen to have a “double mum” and a “double dad”: all parents are always ready to give advice on how a cohabitation should be lived. Moreover, their families of origin often tend to occupy every free moment by organizing lunches at one or the other’s house, as well as visits to relatives and other “family obligations”.
How to avoid being swallowed by family commitments? Simple, learn to say a few and to … optimize your commitments. Why, for example, do not you invite everyone to your home for an “extended family” lunch? In this way, the following weekend you will be free to leave for a romantic escape, without remorse. It is one of the best tips for learning to live together.
4. Freedom for two
Regarding freedom, it should not only concern the life of a couple but also that of your individual personalities. Some examples? Once cohabitation has begun, you should not interrupt the activities that you used to do when you lived apart, especially if they made you feel good. It is one of the best tips for learning to live together.
These can be language courses, sports practice, lessons to learn a new technique or to cultivate a hobby. The condition sine qua does not always remain common sense, which often results in compromise: you will not have to give up a passion, but simply take into account that now your time is shared with that of another person, with his needs and his desires. After all, what Martin Luther King used to say is true, “freedom ends where the other begins”.
5. Daily news
In the phrases for promises of marriage you are sworn to be together forever, but this does not mean that you can not make changes in your life. For a start you could travel, to make new experiences while you take a well-deserved break from work. Exploring new cultures will open your eyes to new possibilities, different from your habits. It is one of the best tips for learning to live together.
Once you get home, are you afraid that the routine will kill love? Learn to make it interesting ! Do not miss out on small daily novelties and never stop surprising the other person with a gift, even a small one, but tailor-made.
